5th day, 5th month, standard year 24934
Master burst into my room, saying urgently 'Hurry and get dressed. The Council's called us."
I didn't understand why, as we'd just returned from a mission,but before I knew it, we were standing before the Council, who informed us there had been an earthquake on some planet called Kidia, and we were being sent there, along with other teams of Jedi.
Then before I knew it, we were on the ship to Kidia, with Somti and Plo.
*****
Plo is another friend...he's not a best friend, but I know him and like him a lot.
I don't want to write what happened today...I'll write tomorrow. Or even better, I'll write when all this is over.
******
6th day, 5th month, standard year 24934
We're leaving tomorrow- and more happened today that I didn't want to talk about, but I knew that if I didn't write it down now I never would:
Master told me and Somti to take the east side of the ruined city. We went.
"Watch out for aftershocks." Somti's Master called.
(Yes, I forgot to mention...he was chosen! And it wasn't by Master Mapru. He was chosen by a Twei'lek Master....I can't remember her name, but I do remember she trained Nela's sister)
"Check for survivors. Take them to the med-center." added my Master. "Leave any dead."
We took food and medical supplies, and went to do what we were told.
Somti found her first.
A little girl, trapped under the rubble. She was no more than eight. Her eyes were closed but she was breathing, and as we worked to free her she opened her eyes and said:
"Thirsty."
I gave her some water, and once she was free she collapsed in Somti's arms.
"What are you?" she stammered at him.
Somti grinned at her. "I'm a Teevan."
"Never seen nothing like you...." She herself was a Human, with very dirty red-blondish hair. I used the Force, checking to see if there were any internal injuries. There weren't. And she looked fine, too. But she was covered in dirt, and then I saw cuts all along her arms and legs...I noticed a deep one on her shoulder, and started to clean it.
"Listen," Somti said gently. "Do you know where your parents are....?"
She scowled. "Always get asked that. Don't have no parents."
Me and Somti exchanged a look.
"I ran away from my aunt," she explained calmly. "Came here to find my brother."
We exchanged another look. "What's your name?" I asked her.
"Kini."
"Kini," I told her gently. "you'd better come with us. You need food and water and you might need a healer to see you, too..."
"I'm not hungry," she said. "An' I'm not thirsty anymore. Can you help me find my brother?"
I was completely bemused. I suspect Somti was too.
"Do you know where your brother is?" I asked.
"No."
"We'll look for him. We promise," Somti said firmly. I nodded.
"Come on, we'll take you to the nearest med-center..."
I took her, and Somti stayed behind to sort through the rubble and see what he could find. Before I left her safely with the Healers, she turned to me and said.
"My brother's called Alex. He might not be here anymore. I wanta find him." She looked miserable all of a sudden. "He was the one who sent me to my aunt. He told me something happened and I had to find him."
Alex!
The same Alex? Alixen's brother?
I didn't know, but I found myself opening my mouth anyway.
"I'll find him for you." I said. "Promise."
As for things I don't want to talk about...oh, there were plenty. We didn't find nearly as many survivors as everyone had hoped. We found other children, other people...at least half of them, we discovered, died at the med-centres. And some died barely seconds after we'd dug them out.
I was crying when I got back to my Master. I tried to hide it. To my surprise, he shook his head sympathetically. There has been just one other mission where I saw people...killed. (it was the one before we went to Kidia. I didn't much want to write about it.) He was ruthless then...telling me to feel no remorse for them. But then, it was a war raging through the planet, and those people had set out to kill others because they were told to, and the Kidian people...they were killed by nature's fury, not killed by their own people. I don't understand it either. Whoever they killed or were killed by, they were still people. Wars or no wars they still died.
"We're going to burn the bodies. Perhaps you should go inside." Master said.
I did.
I have to contact Alex. But what if he's....?
*****